February Book Review

How is it already March? It always seems like January will never end, and then we blink, and it's March! 

I read 5 books in February - not my most impressive month, but I think I have some good ones to share.

The Gown by Jennifer Robson - I've only blogged a time or two ten about how much I enjoy Jennifer Robson's books...and The Gown was no different. This story is about fictionalized account of the making of Queen Elizabeth's wedding dress. It's told from the point of view of 2 of the seamstresses who did the embroidery work during 1946-47 and also has a present day storyline of the granddaughter of one of those women who didn't know her grandmother made the gown. It was SO good! I loved every minute of it. I would recommend all of her books and can't wait for more to come out. A++++

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E. Smith - Chosen for Book Challenge Prompt 'Takes place in a single day' - This is totally YA so you know I enjoyed it. {grin} A girl is flying to London for her father's wedding harboring a lot of ill feelings towards him and his upcoming wedding. While at the airport, she meets a boy also flying to London and they hit it off right away. But when they get to London they get separated at the airport - how will they find each other again? 

Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling - Chosen for Book Challenge Prompt 'With a question in the title' - I love Mindy Kaling - she's always seemed like someone I would totally be friends with, and this book confirmed that. It was fun, witty, quirky, everything you want in a celebrity female comedian book - so funny that this is a genre - this was actually her 2nd book but she still talked a lot about The Office which I really enjoyed. 

The next 2 books are re-reads, and I normally don't blog about books I've read before - I probably re-read a handful of books every year - but I'm blogging about these for a reason.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel - I actually read this book in 2015, but it's our book club selection, so I re-read it. My review from then holds true - the book was really good. It's a nonlinear story that covers a flu epidemic that wipes out 99% of the world's population - you read about the time when the flu hits and also follow a troop of actors who travel and perform 20 years after the flu - it was really cool to see America in this post-flu world and also watch the different storylines come together. 

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness - After reading Time's Convert in December, I really wanted to reread the All Soul's Trilogy, and one of the Challenge Prompts is 'Reread of a favorite book', so I figured I could put this or Station Eleven in there. It has been over 6 years since I read A Discovery of Witches for the first time, and I'm so glad I re-read it. Deborah Harkness is such a talented writer, she reminds me Diana Gabaldon {who wrote Outlander} in that she intertwines history and really strong writing with elements of fantasy/sci-fi and adds in a love story and characters you really care about. I'm looking forward to re-reading the rest of the books AND I found out it's been made into a TV series that I can watch on Amazon!!!

I've already read 2 books this month, so I'm hoping for a big list to share!

Five on Friday

ONE

Earwax Cleaner

So this is kind of gross but kind of cool, ha.

Trent inherited an earwax buildup problem,

and we've had to go to the doctor several times to have his ears cleaned.

One time, they used this spray bottle to wash his ears out, and it was so cool.

So I bought one! It's fun to squirt his ears clean, haha.

TWO

Shower Mold

I guess today is the day for gross stories!

We had some mold in our shower, and the only way I knew to get of it was bleach.

I bought some but was dreading spending some time scrubbing.

The smell, the harshness, yuck!

My sister told me to buy toilet bowl cleaner with bleach in it, 

squirt it on the mold and let it set overnight.

AND IT WORKED!

I wanted to share in case anyone else ever faced that and needed an easy solution.

THREE

Amazon Clothes

I briefly mentioned this the other day, but I'm seriously thinking

about buying clothes on Amazon.

Anyone done this?

I have this internal struggle of being at home all day -  

so not wanting to spend a lot of money on clothes - 

but also not wanting to wear yoga pants every day either.

I feel put together when I'm dressed in real clothes!

I've found some cute {in pictures} and cheap stuff on Amazon,

and I'm thinking of buying. Is that dumb?

Once I pull the trigger, I'll share what I bought and see what y'all think.

FOUR

Wall Paint

Ever since we built our house, I've hated our wall paint...

you know - the color I PICKED and had painted throughout our entire house.

Brent and I are finally going to get parts of the house repainted - 

I have a friend who WANTS to do it, ha.

We're basically doing one half - ignoring the kids' side.

Everyone will be changing rooms within the next 6-12 months,

and I will eventually let them pick paint colors.

Here's what I think we're doing:

Most likely #1...what do y'all think?

FIVE

Shandy

I just discovered the way I like beer!

With lemonade!

Did y'all know this is a drink?

We like this brewery in our town because it's family friendly - 

they have a HUGE outdoor space with games.

We've gone a couple of times with friends, and everyone has had fun.

I don't like beer, but Brent bought me a shandy to try,

and it is definitely my jam.

Does this surprise anyone? Add sugar, and I'll probably like it!

I've seen them in cans too around town, so I think this will be a fun summer drink!